News Clips

"Amid it all, voters showed they were, indeed, undeterred, and, in the words of Elizabeth MacNamara, president of the U.S. League of Women Voters, 'The determination of voters came despite antics in Florida and Ohio to shorten voting hours, incorrect signage at Pennsylvania polling sites suggesting photo ID was required, poor election preparation causing long lines, and an onslaught of subversive robocalls intent on misdirecting voters.'"

"A week after Florida's electoral system melted down, there is growing consensus that the state must reform its election laws to avoid similar problems in the future. ... Meanwhile, civic and political activists have promised to pressure lawmakers until they rescind the 2011 changes. Led by the Florida League of Women Voters, the group on Tuesday urged the formation of a task force to identify and eliminate hurdles to voting."

"The League of Women Voters of Watertown [MA] would like to commend the many citizens of Watertown who came out to vote in the election of November 6, 2012. ... We would also like to praise all those who worked very hard on the election: those in the Town Clerk's office, the election commissioners, the poll workers and the police who helped them. All these people made sure the election went smoothly."

"The US Supreme Court decided to take up the issue of voting rights for minorities, a group that has historically faced discrimination at the polls. ... Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters, called the decision to review the act's constitutionality a 'huge step in the wrong direction.'"

"The Davidson County Election Commission 'utterly failed' as hundreds of voters experienced problems at the polls last week, the leader of a voter advocacy group said Monday. ... Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, said a hotline set up at her organization's MetroCenter office received more than 600 calls on Nov. 6. Callers complained about long lines; poll workers running out of provisional ballots, change-of-address forms and other documents; precincts not having adequate staffing; poorly trained poll workers; incomplete voter rolls, and other problems.

"Asked whether the blanket mailing by the secretary of state was necessary, the League of Women Voters of Ohio's Carrie Davis offered, 'Regardless of what rules we have in place going forward... whatever options we have, we need to make clear to voters what their rights are. I think that's been a big source of confusion this election cycle.'"

"They came from places like Vietnam, Somalia, and China. Seventeen different countries were represented Friday in south St. Louis County, as 23 petitioners gave up their native citizenship to become naturalized Americans. ... the St. Louis area League of Women Voters had a booth to register the new American citizens to vote, following the ceremony."

"The Supreme Court said Friday that it would consider a challenge from several Southern states to the Voting Rights Act, setting up another landmark clash over federal power and the legacy of discrimination. ... 'The Voting Rights Act is an essential part of American democracy,' League of Women Voters President Elisabeth MacNamara declared Friday. The thought that the Supreme Court might overrule Congress and take away voting rights should send a chill down the spine of every American.'”

"Tina Merlitti, who heads up the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area and is a former Akron councilwoman, was an observer on behalf of the state Issue 2 campaign at Callis Tower in Akron, a single-precinct polling location... Merlitti said the biggest problem she saw at the polling place was voters who had moved and weren’t sure where they needed to vote. ... 'Often the people were supposed to vote there,' she said. 'We would look it up for them and then take them back to the judge — the one checking voters in — and say, ‘They’re supposed to vote here.’ They would then give them a provisional ballot. After it happened a couple of times, they would send them to us to have us look it up for them.'”

"The 2012 election may have just wrapped up, but that didn't stop women from trying to inspire one another to run for future office. ... The workshop called "Speak Up, Power Up, Step Up" was held...to encourage women interested in political service and action to run for office. ... The League of Women Voters held the workshop to encourage women to get more involved in public policy.